Concrete Walls and Prayer

Psalm 91:1-4 "Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection."

A few months ago I took a new ministry position. This new ministry put me in a strategic spot to influence New England for the advancement of God's Kingdom. I am excited to be serving in this roll. But almost from the moment I began in this role my family has been struggling. We have a home in Vermont that will not sell, so we have not yet been able to purchase a home in Massachusetts, where the new ministry is headquartered. For five months I commuted 90 minutes each way to the office. That was brutal on my family. Then we finally decided to move into a small cottage that the ministry owns while awaiting for the Lord to show us what to do about our long term housing needs. On the very day of the move, my dear wife, who had been sick for several weeks, became so gravely ill that she had to be admitted to the hospital. She was in the hospital for a week where we learned about both some immediate medical needs she had as well as some more serious long term issues. After several weeks of dealing with that, the Lord began the process of healing her. But our struggles were not over. In fact, the very day that we got good news about my wife's health, my son, who is in college, called to say he had not felt good the last couple of days. Later that day he ended up in the Emergency Room in a hospital six hours a way from us having surgery for an appendicitis. Wow, it has been a rough six months!

I have a team of missionary colleagues whom I meet with most mornings to pray. I am ever so thankful for them. The prayers of God's people have sustained us through these challenging months. This week, during one of those prayer times, one sister in Christ was praying for us. As she prayed she said "Lord, I know some people pray for a hedge of protection around someone, but a hedge doesn't sound very secure to me. So I pray for a concrete wall of protection around the Dorsett family." I have no idea how that works out theologically, but I do know that I will take that kind of praying any day!

Though we are thankful for doctors and nurses and for a place to live, our hope is not in medical science or real estate agents, our hope is in the Lord. When our eyes are fixed on Jesus and we rest in His arms, then nothing can happen to us that is not part of His great plan for world redemption. What more could any missionary ask for than to be part of God's plan for bringing the lost to Himself and strengthening believers to be more filled with His Spirit.

Whatever challenge we face, He is able to carry us through. Let us covenant together to pray faithfully for our fellow believers, especially for those in strategic places of ministry. Let us pray for concrete walls of protection around their lives, their families and their livelihoods. God is able!

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY